Background

Throughout his career, Dan Kildee has served both as an elected official and a CEO of a national non-profit organization. From 1984 to 2009, he served in a couple of county-level elected positions, as a Genesee County Commissioner and Genesee County Treasurer. He was elected to the United States Congress on November 6, 2012 as the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 5th district. He succeeded his uncle Dale Kildee, who represented Flint in the House of Representatives for 36 years. He resides in Flint Township, Michigan.

JStreet endorsement

Kildee has traveled to Israel multiple times – including one trip while in Congress – and strongly supports a two-state solution.[6]

Lawmakers Address 2015 NIAC Leadership Conference

Washington, DC – “Thank you for the work you have been doing,” said Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), discussing the Iran nuclear deal before the 2015 National Iranian American Council leadership conference. “I really don’t think this would have happened without the really exceptional grassroots movement that took place during the summer.”

“This is a moment to tell the true story of the Iranian people,” Murphy observed, “and link together the American people and the Iranian people.”

Joining Murphy were Representatives Donna Edwards (D-MD) and Dan Kildee (D-MI), who discussed their support for the Iran nuclear agreement.

Representative Kildee discussed his efforts to secure the release of his constituent, Amir Hekmati, an Iranian American who has been detained in Iran since August 2011. Kildee noted that some called for the U.S. to condition its support for a nuclear deal on the release of American prisoners. However, he said, doing so would have been a grave mistake that only ensured the U.S. achieved neither goal.

Kildee promised to continue his efforts to secure the release of Hekamati and other detained Americans, and urged the audience to utilize social media to raise the profile of these cases. He said the lifting of sanctions under the deal will also help increase scrutiny of Iran’s human rights behavior. “How likely is a multinational corporation to place…an individual into Iran when they have a pattern and history of apprehending presumably innocent individuals to have leverage?”

Kildee also emphasized the need to understand that there is a political spectrum in Iran just as there is in the United States. “One mistake [is to] think of Iran as a monolithic society and to take the most extreme voices which gather the most tension…as if it is somehow representative of the Iranian people and I know that it is not,” he explained. “Imagine if the rest of the world accepted as a reflection of American political sentiment some of the commentary that you might be hearing in the context of the American presidential campaign.”

Representative Edwards applauded the work of U.S. negotiators in securing the deal, while noting the deal remains vulnerable to spoilers. She argued that the deal could be challenge the international community to think about weaponized nuclear capacities and move towards denuclearizing the rest of the world. Edwards also noted that the next President will need to actively implant the deal. “We will need a president who understands that not only did we get a deal but for our vision of the world we cannot afford to move away from it.”[7]

Condemning Criticism of Islam legislation

On December 17, 2015, Rep. Don Beyer, Jr. introduced legislation condemning "violence, bigotry, and hateful rhetoric towards Muslims in the United States." The legislation is based on unsourced claims that there is a "rise of hateful and anti-Muslim speech, violence, and cultural ignorance," and a "disproportionate targeting" of "Muslim women who wear hijabs, headscarves, or other religious articles of clothing...because of their religious clothing, articles, or observances."

Praising CAIR

“During our many meetings, you always provide a thoughtful and welcomed perspective that truly helps prepare me for the work ahead. I look forward to continuing to work together in the future.” - Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) (2014). [9]

“It is my sincere wish that you know your faith and continued service in communities like my own are an example to Americans everywhere.”

Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) (October 2017).

PFLP meeting

A group of Democratic lawmakers met with an alleged member of a terrorist organization during a trip funded by an anti-Israel nonprofit Spring 2016.

Seventy-one members of Congress were invited on the all-expenses-paid trip to east Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank, but only five accepted: Illinois congressman Luis Gutierrez, Michigan congressman Dan Kildee, Wisconsin congressman Mark Pocan, Pennsylvania congressman Matt Cartwright, and Georgia congressman Hank Johnson.

According to the trip itinerary, the American lawmakers met on May 29 with Shawan Jabarin, an alleged long-time activist for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization that has engaged in suicide bombings, assassinations, and plane hijackings. Jabarin serves as director of the Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq, which advocates for economic boycotts of Israel and exploits courts to delegitimize the country, according to NGO Monitor, a pro-Israel watchdog.

The Israeli Supreme Court has described Jabarin as a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, acting some of the time as the CEO of a human rights organization, and at other times as an activist in a terror organization which has not shied away from murder and attempted murder." Jabarin was found guilty of recruiting operatives on behalf of the PFLP in 1985 and has since been denied exit visas by Israel and Jordan.

The May trip also included meetings with Palestinian political and finance officials, including Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. The meeting with Jabarin featured a number of other officials from Palestinian nonprofits as well as the Palestinian minister for prisoner affairs.

Conyers and several other Democrats are bringing guests to the speech who have spoken out about or would be personally affected by Trump’s immigration policies or by GOP plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, will be joined by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who 18 months ago uncovered elevated levels of lead in the blood of Flint children.

Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, will take Phoebe Hopps of Traverse City, an activist who helped organize the Michigan contingent of the women’s march in Washington and the protest against Trump’s travel ban at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.[11]